Lesson 8 K 2
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Lesson 8
Objective: Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using
the words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
Suggested Lesson Structure
Fluency Practice

Application Problem

Concept Development

Student Debrief

Total Time
(12 minutes)
(5 minutes)
(26 minutes)
(7 minutes)
(50 minutes)
Fluency Practice (12 minutes)
 Position Words Game K.G.1
(4 minutes)
 Show Me Shapes K.G.2
(4 minutes)
 Rekenrek Roller Coaster K.CC.4a
(4 minutes)
Position Words Game (4 minutes)
Note: As students work with position words, they are analyzing their world and their relationship to that
world in space. This leads to insights about measurement and distance.
Call students to the rug with their partners. Use position words such as above, below, beside, in front of, next
to, and behind to give directions for activities to do with a partner. For example, “Partner A, put your hand
above Partner B’s head. Stand beside your partner. Partner B, stand in front of Partner A.”
The benefit of partner work is that they check and correct each other and, in the process, explain their
thinking.
Show Me Shapes (4 minutes)
Note: Now that students have had the chance to really study the attributes of shapes, they should visualize
each shape as they say the name of it.
Conduct the activity as outlined in Lesson 7, but now use the names of solid shapes.
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
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Lesson 8 K 2
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Rekenrek Roller Coaster (4 minutes)
Materials: (T) 20 Rekenrek
Note: As students gain deeper understanding of the numbers in relationship to 5, the Rekenrek allows them
to start building a relationship to 10 ones, as outlined in Kindergarten Module 1 Lesson 23.
T:
Let’s practice counting with the Rekenrek. (Show students the 20 Rekenrek with the side panel
attached.) Say how many you see. (Slide the balls you want the students to count completely to one
side.)
Direct the students to gradually raise their hands as the numbers increase and to lower their hands as the
numbers decrease, mimicking the motion of a roller coaster. A suggested sequence is counting up, counting
down, and then in short sequences, 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, etc. Gradually build up to 10.
Be careful not to mouth the number words or count along with the students. Listen carefully for hesitations
or errors, and return to a simpler sequence if necessary. If students demonstrate mastery, consider
introducing the 5-group orientation (e.g., 6 as 5 red beads on top and 1 red bead on the bottom).
Application Problem (5 minutes)
Materials: (S) Small ball of clay
Make a sphere with your ball of clay. Make your ball into a cylinder. Make your cylinder into a cube. Make
your cube into a cone. Put your cone next to your partner’s. Partner A, put your cone above Partner B’s.
Note: This Application Problem reviews vocabulary from yesterday’s lesson and bridges to the work of
positioning solids in today’s lesson.
Concept Development (26 minutes)
Materials: (T) Set of geometric solids in a paper bag; set of flash cards in a paper bag showing the words
above, beside, below, in front of, next to, and behind (S) Set of geometric solids per pair
T:
T:
MP.3
S:
We are going to play a math game today called Guess
What I Am. I’m going to call on a lot of volunteers, so
be ready to be mathematicians! I have two bags in
front of me. Who can guess what is in my bags?
(Shake bags and elicit guesses from students.)
Student A, please come up to help me. I want you to
put your hand in this bag and find one of the objects,
but don’t look at it! See if you can guess what it is just
by feeling it. Here is a hint: It is something that we
looked at yesterday. (Allow student to locate one of
the solids in the bag.) Tell us about it.
It feels smooth and round. It is a sphere!
Lesson 8:
NOTES ON
MULTIPLE MEANS
OF REPRESENTATION:
English language learners are able to
participate better if the flash cards
have a visual illustrating what beside,
above, in front of, next to, and behind
mean. This type of multiple
representation helps them learn these
terms more quickly.
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
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Lesson 8 K 2
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
T:
T:
S:
T:
MP.3
S:
T:
Take it out of the bag. Is he right? (Yes.) Find your spheres, and put them on your desks. (Allow
time for pairs of students to put their spheres on their desks.)
Student B, would you help me next? Find something in the bag, and see if you can tell us what it is
without looking. What do you feel?
I feel something with lots of corners. It has lots of flat
sides. It is a cube!
NOTES ON
Is he right? (Yes!) Now, Student B, take a card out of
MULTIPLE MEANS
the other bag. (Student selects a card.) This card says
OF ENGAGEMENT:
beside. Find a cube in your bag, and put it beside your
Challenge students working above
sphere. Student C, it’s your turn!
grade level by handing them interesting
I feel something that is flat on one side and pointy on
images and getting them to analyze
the other. It has one face. It is a cone. (Student takes
them from shape and position with a
it out of the bag.) I’m right!
partner. Have them present their
insights in the Debrief.
Now, choose a card. (Student selects a card.) The card
says above. Find your cones, and put them above the
cube. Look! You made a building!
Play the game at a fast pace for several minutes or until all students have had a turn to identify a solid by
touch. Put solids or cards back in the bags as often as necessary to continue the exercise. If the combinations
create impossible situations, such as put the sphere above the cone, ask students what positional word could
be used instead.
T:
T:
Now, arrange the solids on your desk. You will play a similar game with your partner, but in a
different way. Tell your partner, “I am the solid that is next to the cube. What am I?” When your
partner guesses the solid correctly, it will be his turn to give you a riddle. (Allow students time to
practice using the words of position and identifying the solids.)
Put your solids away in your bag. Put your bag in front of you. I will put your Problems Sets beside
them.
Problem Set (10 minutes)
Students should do their personal best to complete the Problem Set within the allotted time.
Note: To extend this activity, the teacher could copy a second set of shapes and use these clues.




Paste the shape with no faces above the train.
Paste the shape with many faces behind the train.
Paste the shape with two faces in front of the train.
Paste the shape with one point below the train.
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
This work is derived from Eureka Math ™ and licensed by Great Minds. ©2015 -Great Minds. eureka math.org
This file derived from GK-M2-TE-1.3.0-06.2015
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Lesson 8 K 2
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Student Debrief (7 minutes)
Lesson Objective: Describe and communicate positions
of all solid shapes using the words above, below, beside,
in front of, next to, and behind.
The Student Debrief is intended to invite reflection and
active processing of the total lesson experience.
Invite students to review their solutions for the Problem
Set. They should check work by comparing answers
with a partner before going over answers as a class.
Look for misconceptions or misunderstandings that can
be addressed in the Debrief. Guide students in a
conversation to debrief the Problem Set and process
the lesson.
Any combination of the questions below may be used to
lead the discussion.






What new (or significant) math vocabulary did
we use today to communicate precisely?
Where did you place each solid on your paper?
(Go through each direction, and compare where students put their shapes on their paper.)
Were there important words you needed to know to complete this Problem Set?
Compare with your partner. Did you put your shapes in the same place as your partner?
What shapes do you see on your paper?
How did the Application Problem connect to today’s lesson?
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
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This file derived from GK-M2-TE-1.3.0-06.2015
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NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Name
Lesson 8 Problem Set K 2
Date
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
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This file derived from GK-M2-TE-1.3.0-06.2015
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NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Lesson 8 Problem Set K 2
Directions: Read to students.
Paste the sphere above the train.
Paste the cube behind the train.
Paste the cylinder in front of the train.
Paste the cone below the train.
Provide one
strip for
every student.
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
This work is derived from Eureka Math ™ and licensed by Great Minds. ©2015 -Great Minds. eureka math.org
This file derived from GK-M2-TE-1.3.0-06.2015
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Lesson 8 Homework K 2
NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM
Name
Date
Tell someone at home the names of each solid shape.
Sphere
Cylinder
Cone
Cube
Color the car beside the stop sign green.
Circle the next car with blue.
Color the car behind the circled car red.
Draw a road below the cars.
Draw a policeman in front of the cars.
Draw a sun above the cars.
Lesson 8:
Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the
words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.
This work is derived from Eureka Math ™ and licensed by Great Minds. ©2015 -Great Minds. eureka math.org
This file derived from GK-M2-TE-1.3.0-06.2015
89
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.